SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Bonhams announces it will offer 125 lots of important American Indian Art from the collection of world-renowned horse trainer Mario Luraschi of Paris, France, on September 14 in San Francisco.
Luraschi has trained horses and coordinated stunts for television and films for decades, as well as developed numerous live shows. During time he spent filming in the United States, he frequented Santa Fe, New Mexico, and other centers for Native American art, turning his love for the Old West into a remarkable collection from which Bonhams is pleased to offer a selection of the very finest pieces.
Plains, Woodlands and Plateau material including pipes, tomahawks, beadwork and quillwork of every sort will be on offer with exceptional examples ranging from throughout the 19th century and into the early 1900s.
Perhaps the best and most desirable highlight of the sale is an Upper Missouri River war shirt. With painted, pony-beaded and quilled decoration, it carries an estimate of $250,000-350,000. There will also be superb shirts from the Ute, Mandan and Plateau areas.
Accoutrements of both war and peace inspired the collection, and up for sale will be time-honored examples such as a Crow pipe tomahawk with a beaded drop (est. $50,000-70,000) and perhaps the best of many pipes to be sold – a true Great Lakes or Woodlands calumet that is over three feet long.
Not surprisingly, there will also be plentiful horse-related gear, such as a Crow beaded martingale (est. $8,000-12,000), a Navajo silver headstall with provenance connected to the famous leader Manuelito (est. $6,000-9,000) and a Cayuse horse mask (est. $5,000-8,000).
Bonhams also announced the results of its $1.2 million Native American Art auction that took place this month in San Francisco. A Haida gold bracelet by famed artist Bill Reid shared top billing with a Nez Perce beaded shirt, which each separately achieved $62,500. Beadwork and Plains material sold well, setting expectations for success in September’s sale: an Upper Missouri River man’s coat brought $50,000 and a Lakota Sioux boy’s beaded shirt achieved $42,500.
